BEIRUT, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces detained on Sunday members of a "terrorist cell" behind recent deadly bombings in northern Lebanon that killed 22 people, the army said in a statement.

A security source said four Islamist militants were captured near the Palestinian Bidawi refugee camp just north of the port city of Tripoli, where two bombings in August and September killed 15 soldiers and seven civilians occurred.

The army statement gave no details on the number or political affiliation of the cell members but said they had been planning a new attack and an explosive device had been found with them.

The security forces were hunting a key member of the cell still at large, the statement said, identifying him as Abdel-Ghani Ali Jawhar.

The Lebanese army fought a 15-week battle with al Qaeda- inspired militants at another Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli last year in which at least 430 people were killed, including 170 soldiers.

Political and sectarian tensions in the country have raised fears of a spike in Islamist militancy in Tripoli, the traditional bastion of conservative Sunni Muslims. (Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Nadim Ladki; editing by Sami Aboudi)

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